Rams, Explorers Face Off Tuesday Night on CBSSN

Friday will be the 37th game all time between Rhode Island and La Salle, with Rhody holding a 27-9 edge.

Rhody has won two straight and seven of the last eight meetings, including an 74-62 victory on Jan. 3.

Redshirt senior E.C. Matthews scored a season-high 24 points and grabbed six rebounds on 10-for-17 shooting from the field and 3-for-5 from three-point range in the first meeting. Senior Jared Terrell added 14 points, two assists, five rebounds and four steals.

Rhody has won four straight at Gola Arena. The last time Rhody lost at La Salle was a 72-62 defeat on Jan. 15, 2014.

La Salle's B.J. Johnson is the third leading scorer in the Atlantic 10, averaging 20.5 points per game. He also ranks fourth in the conference with 8.0 rebounds per game.

La Salle snapped a three-game losing skid by beating George Mason 69-62 in its last game.

The Explorers rank last in 3-point field goal defense (.396) while the Rams are fourth in 3-point shooting (.364).

GAME TO AIR ON CBSSN

Tuesday's game will air on CBSSN.

Tom McCarthy will handle the play-by-play and Alaa Abdelnaby will be the color analyst.

This will be Rhode Island's sixth appearance on CBSSN this season. The Rams are 5-0 on the network thus far, winning against Providence, at Saint Louis, at Dayton, at Massachusetts and against Richmond.

MATTHEWS MOVES INTO RHODY'S TOP FIVE IN POINTS

Redshirt senior E.C. Matthews scored 14 points at St. Bonaventure, giving him 1,765 for his career.

He is tied with Jimmy Baron (2005-09) for fifth place in program history.

With four regular season games plus the postseason remaining, Matthews also has a shot to catch Ernie Calverly (1943-46) for third place. Calverly scored 1,868 points. Matthews would need 103 points to catch Calverly.

LANGEVINE DOMINATING IN THE PAINT

Sophomore Cyril Langevine has shown an improved offensive game over the last six contests, shooting an eye-popping .880 (22-of-25) from the floor.

He has scored in double digits in each of the last four contests, averaging 12.8 points per game over the span.

In his last six contests, he is averaging 7.7 rebounds and has blocked eight shots.

In conference play, he leads the team with 7.4 rebounds per game.

In Atlantic 10 games, Langevine is shooting a team-best .745 from the field (35-for-47).

All of his production has come while averaging 19.3 minutes per game in conference play. In all but one of those games, Langevine came off the bench.